Blues Off-season and 2024-25 Season

[Leroy]

Well I learned something new last night. On my way home I was listening to the game, and the Blues got a penalty for some trapezoid problem. I have no idea what the hell a trapezoid is, let alone why there is a penalty for it. I looked it up this morning.

The more you know, the more you know.

[GeddyWrox]

You probably have this figured out by now, but...

The goalie is not allowed to play the puck in the areas where the red X is. Just the area where the Green check mark is.

They added this rule 15-20 years ago because Roy and Brodeur were so good at controlling the game behind the net it really became a huge advantage over other teams.

[GeddyWrox]

Yes, the trapezoid rule was largely a response to Martin Brodeur's exceptional puck-handling skills, which made it extremely difficult for opponents to establish an effective forecheck. Brodeur’s ability to retrieve dump-ins and clear the puck or pass it to his defensemen effectively neutralized one of the main strategies teams used to generate offensive pressure.

How Brodeur's Dominance Influenced the Rule
Third Defenseman Role: Brodeur's skill at reading the game and handling the puck allowed him to act like an additional defenseman. This disrupted dump-and-chase tactics, as he could easily intercept pucks and bypass forecheckers.
Impact on Game Flow: His style slowed down the aggressive forechecking play that the league wanted to encourage post-lockout, as it resulted in fewer sustained offensive zone pressures and reduced scoring chances.
League's Goal Post-Lockout: After the 2004-05 lockout, the NHL wanted to increase scoring and speed up the game to make it more exciting for fans. Restricting goaltenders like Brodeur from handling the puck in the corners was part of these broader efforts.
Other Factors Beyond Brodeur
While Brodeur was the main catalyst, other puck-handling goalies like Ron Hextall and Marty Turco also contributed to the perception that goalies playing the puck outside the crease gave their teams too much of an advantage. However, Brodeur was the poster child for this style, and his dominance made him a primary focus when the rule was discussed.

In essence, the trapezoid rule is often jokingly referred to as the "Brodeur Rule" because it was implemented largely to counteract his mastery of playing the puck and to restore balance between offense and defense.

[GeddyWrox]

Took my daughter to the hockey game tonight for her birthday. I had a feeling this was going to be a trap game. Unfortunately I was right.

We STUNK for 2+ periods and then remembered how to play with about 16 minutes to go in the game. So frustrating.

[MrCrowesGarden]

Cam Fowler is a Blue

[JCShutout]

That sucks geddy.

Cam Fowler is a Blue

I’m surprised by this. I guess they really don’t like the kids (minus broberg) in the top4, which does not bode well for the future.

I hope this doesn’t come back to bite us making us not be able to afford hofer.

Edit: back of the napkin math from puckpedia’s numbers and some guesses on end of roster fa/resignings and I think we will be around $86.5m before hofer, assuming Krug stays on ltir. If the cap goes up past $92m as a quick google estimates it might, we should still be okay.

Also we do have moveable assets. Someone would take a year of saad or leddy.

[JCShutout]

Blues traded po Joseph to Pittsburgh.

Huh. I guess they didn’t see him as a medium or long term option. Too bad. I had hoped he would be a nice depth player for us.

[GeddyWrox]

Blues traded po Joseph to Pittsburgh.

Huh. I guess they didn’t see him as a medium or long term option. Too bad. I had hoped he would be a nice depth player for us.

I feel bad for him and Matthieu. They seemed so excited to be able to play together.

However, with the addition of Folwer, P.O. was going to get buried on the depth chart and it wasn't really anything he did wrong. It's probably best for him to go back to Pitt and get regular playing time.

[GeddyWrox]

https://www.stltoday.com/sports/profess ... ad694.html

From the link above:

Goal-scoring has been a problem for the Blues all season. It was part of the reason why they couldn’t win consistently under previous coach Drew Bannister. It was the biggest issue facing Montgomery when he took over more than three weeks ago.

Thursday was the 18th time in 33 games that the Blues were held to two or fewer goals (a count that includes a 3-2 shootout win vs. San Jose). Entering Thursday, only five NHL teams had more low-scoring games than the Blues did.

“Goals come in bunches,” Thomas said. “Sometimes, they don’t come. Sometimes, they do. It’s when the chances are drying up that it gets really frustrating. Obviously, you want to score every night and make a difference that way. That often leads to wins, so it’s frustrating. We need to get a little bit more traffic and I think that’ll make our chances a little bit better.”

Part of the reason the Blues haven’t had consistent scoring is that their depth players haven’t scored regularly enough.

Here are the scorers of the Blues’ last seven goals: Buchnevich, Kyrou, Thomas, Kyrou, Buchnevich, Kyrou, Kyrou. It’s been more than a week since any Blue but those three found the back of the net, and it’s been two weeks since a defenseman scored (the last one was Colton Parayko’s overtime winner in Calgary).

Brandon Saad tied his career-worst goal drought at 16 games, and he was taken off the power play. Toropchenko hasn’t scored in 21 games. Nathan Walker has zero goals since Montgomery took over. Both Mathieu Joseph and Alexandre Texier haven’t scored since October. Dylan Holloway has cooled since he ripped off a seven-game point streak.

[JCShutout]

Blues need a scoring line center who can elevate some wingers BAD.

No biggie, only one of the most difficult pieces to find.

Hopefully in a few years one of the kids emerges.